Data breaches, public sector cyberattacks spike

Both data breaches and government and public sector-targeted cyberattacks have significantly increased during the second quarter of 2023, reports ZDNET. Data breaches around the world rose by 2.6 times between the first and second quarters, with the 110.8 million breached user accounts from April to June representing a 156% increase over the first quarter, according to a Surfshark report. North America was most impacted by data breaches, with 45% of the breached user accounts attributed to the U.S. Meanwhile, a report by BlackBerry revealed that government agencies and other members of the public sector experienced a 40% increase in cyberattacks from March to May but healthcare and financial services were most targeted by attacks. "With limited resources and immature cyber defense programs, [governments and public services organizations] are struggling to defend against the double-pronged threat of both nation states and cybercriminals," said BlackBerry Vice President of Threat Research and Intelligence Ismael Valenzuela.